Compounding Traumas (Artemis University #6) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,67

it was hard not to laugh. He was uncomfortable though, so I was trying to make this easier.

He gave me a full grin. “I know, and I really like that about you. You’re so real and just who you are. So many women worry about how people will see what they do and judge them, so they hide who they are. You’re just you and know it’s not about doing something wrong, simply finding the people who fit with the type of person you are. And not just men, but friends.”

“Yeah. It took me a while to get there.” I squirmed a bit. There was more to it than that. There was a lot of heartache to it as well, and finally finding someone who accepted a fucked up kid. Mel had been the first person to really accept me and say she liked who I was, and that mattered.

“I know, and I honestly want to be more like that but, well, you know our society so right now, I just want to be more like that with you.” He stole another kiss as if each one gave him a power-up to keep going. “Don’t laugh, okay? I want to share one of my secrets with you. It’s part of my courting present, or not present, but like I would give flowers, but yeah, a part of me.”

Now I was supremely interested in the box’s contents. “I won’t laugh.” I reached for the flap, but he moved his hand to cup mine.

“You’ll keep my secrets too, right, kitten?”

“Yeah, always,” I promised, knowing we were talking about more than whatever he was about to show me. What we had learned was terrifying, and he was trying to lay some groundwork. Not only that, but because of my situation, everything tended to be about me all the time, and I was pretty sure this was his way of saying… He mattered? No, Lucca wasn’t like that.

Maybe he had needs too. Yeah, that seemed more like him. He wanted to share parts of himself with me so I could appreciate the person he was. I thought it was cool but not in my face.

I really thought it was adorable when I saw what was inside.

“So I’m completely addicted to Pop-Tarts,” he confessed as he pulled out the first box… Of the mountain of them in the larger box. “There are always some in my room, even at home I sneak them, and I hide extras in my closet. I even follow them on social media, and anytime there’s a new flavor, I have to try them. They have some new ones I’ve not gotten to yet, and I wanted to with you. Have you taste my faves.”

“I love Pop-Tarts,” I told him, biting back a giggle. “They were super cheap, and most of the assholes I stayed with when I was a kid considered that a real breakfast, but they were good. I’ve never really tried more than strawberry or cherry.” I shook my head. “No, Mel and I had s’mores a few times. Those are awesome.”

He beamed at me and dug in the box, pulling out a double pack of the s’mores flavor. “They’re one of my favorites too.”

“What else?”

I listened as he talked about the watermelon ones that they no longer sold and how he loved them, but they wouldn’t bring them back and it was a shame. It was so friggin adorable that I couldn’t keep the goofy grin off my face. This big guy, a college junior and bear shifter, was gushing about Watermelon Pop-Tarts.

What woman wouldn’t find that totes adorbs?

“You don’t have a toaster,” he muttered, glancing around the room.

“Yeah, Izzy does, or I can use a rune,” I told him, pointing to where it was. The goof jumped up and went over to her side, unplugging it and bringing it back to us. “Do you only eat them hot?”

“No, but some are only good hot or better hot,” he explained as he plugged it in. “Some are good either way, and I thought this might be good for more calories you need. I mean, who can’t slip some packs in their bag?”

“I think you’ll like me better if I do,” I teased.

“Yeah, that will totally be why I sniff after you, Tamsin,” he chuckled, giving me a heated look. “Okay, so what do you want to try first?”

“I cannot believe you got this huge box full of them.” I moved to kneel and reached inside, actually giggling